


A wall of crystal

by JupiterGoddess



Category: Saint Seiya
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:14:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24787540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JupiterGoddess/pseuds/JupiterGoddess
Summary: A short story of Shion post Lost Canvas ending.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	A wall of crystal

Shion sat on the throne in the large, empty hall. It felt indeed so much emptier than ever before.  
Sometimes, he still saw images of his comrades as they assembled to both sides of the red carpet, heard their voices echo through the throne room. He still missed them so much that it hurt. A mere month had passed since the Holy War against Hades had ended – but to him, it felt like years.  
A faint surge of exhaustion tugged at him. Since the war, he had never come truly to rest. Besides repairing Cloths, seeing to the training of new Saints or occasionally helping with the rebuilding, he was constantly spreading out his Cosmos, keeping a lookout for enemies. Here were other evils in the world who may use Sanctuary's momentary, grave weakness to strike at it. He had even found a method to sleep while sitting on the throne and leaving just enough of his mind awake to keep up the Cosmos.  
Night had fallen a few hours ago. The part of him that was awake right now was soothed by the fact how tranquil Sanctuary was. Especially at night-time, when everyone and everything was resting, except for the guards on duty. And so far, nobody had tried to attack them. He was content with that.  
In the throne room, only embers were left glimmering in the fire bowls. The light was weak enough as not to disturb Shion's rest.  
Suddenly, his eyes flew open.  
Something had broken through Sanctuary's barrier and was approaching rapidly. Something vile, murderous intent dripping from its Cosmos. Quickly it reached the Twelve Houses and began its ascent. With no Gold Saints and barely any other Saints left, the only resistance was by normal foot soldiers. He winced as he felt their lives starting to vanish as they got in the intruder's path.  
Like never before, Shion wished he was able to teleport within the Twelve Houses; the Temple of Aries seemed painfully distant. If only Teneo were already a powerful Gold Saint able to defeat the intruder, or at least fight at Shion's side.  
Alas, as it was, the former Aries Saint was the only one able to stand against this powerful foe.  
He burned his Cosmos brightly, a challenge to the intruder. A demand to leave the foot soldiers be and fight him instead, a more worthy opponent. He evil Cosmos, al-ready at Gemini, hesitated for a moment. Then it resumed its ascent; this time, none of the soldiers' lifeforces vanished. Good.  
He observed carefully as the intruder continued. In only a couple of minutes, he was crossing Pisces and approaching the main temple.  
'Come, whoever you are', Shion told the intruder mentally. 'What is it that you are seeking here?'  
Indeed, what could the stranger want? Nothing good, that much was clear. But what purpose could he have? Athena wasn't even here. The Gold Saints were gone. Only Shion was left. Unless… could he himself actually be the target? Could someone use Sanctuary's current weakness to give it a fatal blow by killing the leader? Indeed, there was nobody able to succeed him as Grandmaster were he to die. With his death – Sanctuary would be doomed.   
That, he wasn't going to allow.  
Now the intruder had reached the main temple. Shion expected him to make a straight line for the throne room.  
Only, he didn't.  
Almost too late Shion realized where he was headed. When he did, he jumped up.  
'Curses!'  
Summoning all his speed and burning his Cosmos, he dashed through the hallways of the main temple at a speed faster than light. He got there just in time to block the intruder's path, who had almost reached his goal.  
"You will not get any further", Shion growled.  
The figure standing in front of him was cloaked in billowing shadows. It was human-sized, but Shion knew that didn't mean anything. For all he knew, he could be facing a god.  
At that thought, a shiver ran down his spine and his heart gave a little leap. He was near breaking into cold sweat. If this actually was a god… would he be able to defeat him? Perhaps it was a minor one and he could actually beat him. After all, Capricorn El Cid had defeated four dream gods single-handedly – only requiring help of Sagittarius Sisyphus at the very end, when their souls had melted together into one single being. On the other hand, Shion was no El Cid. He Capricornian had possessed a will and discipline harder than diamond.  
How he wished to have Dohko at his side now. Even if the enemy was a god, they surely could defeat it together.   
But he was alone. In Shion's heart, two sentiments warred together – a decisiveness to defeat this enemy and a fear for the existence of Sanctuary. This was certainly not the first strong opponent the Arian had faced. However, never before had so much been at stake. Any lesser man would have crumbled beneath the pressure.  
But not Shion, though only barely. He simply couldn't give in to his fears and doubts. Loosing was not an option.  
"Out of my way", the stranger said with a slightly distorted but clearly male voice.  
"Never", Shion shot back. "Whatever you want with Athena's ichor, it cannot be good. I won't allow it to fall into your hands."  
The intruder chuckled. "Oho. I changed my direction at the last possible moment. Yet you are quick-witted enough to notice my true goal in time to get in my way."  
Shion didn't react to this mock compliment. Instead, he again tried to pry for infor-mation. "What do you even want with the ichor?"  
Godly ichor was very, very powerful. In the wrong hands it could become quite devas-tating. That alone was reason enough to stop the intruder. And it looked like Shion's precaution had been warranted; originally, Athena's ichor was kept up on Star Hill. However, the current Grandmaster of Sanctuary had decided to move it into a cham-ber at the main temple, closer to himself so he could better protect it. Which begged the unsettling question: How did this guy even know about it? About the ichor in the first place, and where it was kept? Questions over questions… Shion doubted he was getting any answers, but he had at least to try.  
"Now, now", the intruder mockingly chided. "You don't expect me to sell out my mas-ter's plans, do you?"  
And there was the answer Shion had expected. Oh well. At least he had gained one piece of information.  
"A master? So you're not working alone? Tell me who he is right now."  
The stranger shook his head. "You are starting to annoy me with your questions. Out of my way, or die."  
"Never! You will never get your vile hands on Athena's precious ichor!" Shion burned his Cosmos and called out to his constellation. Asked it to lend him its power one more time. And Aries readily responded. In a flash of light, the long robe vanished, and he had the familiar sensation of the Aries Cloth covering his body, accompanied as always by a rush of power running through his body. Clad in his golden shimmer-ing armor, he took a decisive step towards the intruder, ready for battle.  
"I am Shion! Grandmaster of Sanctuary! Former Gold Saint of Aries! And I will not let you pass! If you want to get the ichor, you'll have to get through me!"  
"Tche. What a nuisance", the stranger growled. "But very well, since you introduced yourself…" The shadows surrounding him lifted and revealed a dark blue, almost black armor. It was fashioned in a similar style as the armors of old Greece; it was much more ornate than those, and included shin and forearm protectors.  
"I am Theseus! Now prepare to face my wrath!"  
Shion felt his eyes widen in shock.  
"Thesesus? The Theseus? The one who killed the minotaur?"  
"In the flesh. Now die, measly human! I've had enough for you!"  
The speed with which Theseus attacked surprised Shion. He dodged it just barely. Nothing less to be expected from such a legendary hero.  
The Arian dodged more blows. He could sense that his opponent used Cosmos to give his punches additional speed and power.  
"We don't have to fight", he tried to persuade Theseus as he dodged a kick. I don't even want to have to fight a legendary hero like you."  
It was true. There was no Saint who didn't know Theseus' name; mythical king of Athens, legendary slayer of the minotaur. Shion respected him too much to want to fight him.  
Unfortunately, the hero did not react to his words in the slightest. Instead, he contin-ued to attack viciously. Almost like a beast instead of a human.   
"Stop it!", he tried once more, but again received no answer.  
Shion gritted his teeth. As little as he liked it, it looked like he had to fight this hero of legend. And something about this all felt so wrong. Also, Theseus was so strong that Shion had to end this battle soon, or he might get into trouble.  
He dodged another punch. This time, instead of continuing to attack, Theseus halted. "You are making me really, really angry. You don't even attack back! So be it. Die now, Aries!"  
A sudden swelling of Cosmos was the only warning. Seconds later, a roar rang through the air.  
"DOLOFONOS TOU TAVROU!"  
Theseus released the energy he had gathered in his hands. It exploded out and raced towards Shion. In the nick of time, the Arian burned his own Cosmos and thrust out his arms.  
"CRYSTAL WALL!"  
With incredible force, Theseus' attack crashed into the shimmering wall. It was so strong that Shion almost feared for a moment that it might break. Fortunately, the barrier was a reliable as always.  
With grim satisfaction, he noticed the shock on his opponent's face.  
"Y-you're unscathed…?", Theseus stammered. "B-but… how?"  
"Yes." Shion took a decisive step towards him with a grim face. "Aries is the first temple on the road to this dwelling place of Athena herself. It's guardians are the first line of defense. It is our duty to try and prevent any attackers from getting any further. Don't you agree a barrier fits that task well, Theseus? You have my respect, but give it up – you will never get past me. Because I am the crystalline wall that protects."  
"SHIIIOOOOON!!!"  
Mindless with rage, the legendary warrior attacked with another, Cosmos-fueled mighty punch. The Aries Saint tapped into his own Cosmos to dodge it and deflect his arm.  
It was only the briefest of touches of skin against metal, but that was enough.  
A quick of images and sensations rushed through Shion's mind. It was his innate ability – to see the past of any armor he touched. Unlike during his childhood, however, he now had enough control over it to have it activate when he wanted. And his inten-tion had been to touch Theseus's armor to gleam at the real intention of his intrusion. Luckily it worked. Shion hadn't been sure it would. But the fact that it did meant that the armor was similar to the Cloth of a Saint.  
And what he saw shook him more than he expected.  
Wide-eyed, he stared at Theseus. As the seconds passed, he felt a deep sadness rise inside him. "You…", finally said slowly, "You don't really want to do this."  
"Tch!"  
Theseus' face contorted into a grimace. But for a split second, the real emotions of the legendary hero shone through. Shion could see a face distorted by pain, and tears of blood running down his opponent's cheeks. Chains of shadows were binding him. And for a moment, the Arian thought he could hear his voice.  
"Please… help me…"  
Shion closed his eyes and concentrated. And there, beneath that vile energy sur-rounding Theseus, he could sense a spark of what must be the hero's true Cosmos. His sadness grew, joined by anger towards whoever was behind this. For such a noble warrior being turned into a slave of evil…  
He opened his eyes again.  
"Do not fret. I shall release you from these shackles that bind you."  
With a roar, Theseus charged at him, the evil now in complete control of the warrior again. All reason seemed to have abandoned him, leaving him little more than a wild beast.  
"CRYSTAL WALL!"  
Once more, the shimmering barrier appeared. Theseus crashed into it with terrible force. The impact left him stunned for a few moments, a chance which Shion grabbed immediately.  
"STARDUST REVOLUTION!"  
With a swipe of his arm, the summoned, star-like orbs of energy homed in on their target. With a scream, Theseus vanished in a bright flash of light.  
Shion kept up his guard, staring intently at the spot where his opponent had stood. Only when the light had vanished, the dust had settled and there was not a single trace of the legendary warrior, did the Arian relax.  
"May you find everlasting peace in Elysium, Theseus", he murmured. "I regret that we had to meet like this."  
He walked up to the door and opened it. The small room behind it was unassuming, especially regarding what it contained.   
Content, Shion noted that the small vial was still in its place on the pedestal. It looked deceptively unimportant, yet it contained the mighty blood of the goddess Athena. It was incredible how little things could contain so much power, how they were fre-quently fought over brutally. And what damage they could do in the wrong hands. This time, everything had turned out well, though.  
The Grandmaster closed the door and returned to the throne room. Before sitting down, he bid Aries thanks and released his armor. It returned to its Pandora Box, replaced once more by the flowing robes that were Shion's new garment.   
As he sat on the throne, his thoughts returned to his battle with Theseus. Regretta-bly, he had not found out who had been controlling the hero. Shion would have to fasten the rebuild of Athena's army. He hated doing this, but no matter how brutal it got, Teneo would have to train even harder than before. And hopefully, more candidates for Cloths were found soon. Sanctuary needed its Saints, especially the golden ones.  
Until then… no matter how hard it got, Shion was going to protect them all. No mat-ter what. Because he was the barrier Athena's enemies were never going to pass.  
An unbreakable wall of crystal.

**Author's Note:**

> DOLOFONOS TOU TAVROU - killer of the bull


End file.
